Powerful JavaScript and Its Associated JavaScript Libraries

Powerful Javascript

Globally, JavaScript is renowned as the most popular and powerful programming language. JavaScript is normally used as a client side scripting language and its code is written into an HTML page. On requesting an HTML page by a user with JavaScript, the script is sent to the browser to do something with it. Your script used in the HTML page can be copied and seen by your page viewers. It would be beneficial for you that you can study, view and use any JavaScript encountered on WWW. Other than a Web browser, JavaScript also can be used in another context. A server-side JavaScript as a CGI-language is created by Netscape that can work roughly same as ASP or Perl. JavaScript can also be used to write complex and real programs exclusively in web browsers. If you are the novice in programming, it’s best to start with simple and gentle JavaScript examples that teach you the basics. The lots of changes has come up with the growing fame of JavaScript and it also causes the change in the look of web development dramatically. Several years back, it was hard to imagine the things on the web that we can do today using JavaScript on the server and also in the browser. At that time, things were usually enclosed within the environments of sandbox i.e. Flash and Java Applets. Although, JavaScript originated in Netscape Enterprise Server with JavaScript Server Side, but this language was not ready to work. Finally, Node.js has come into existence after lots of errors and trials. It promoted the non-blocking programming idea, also placed JavaScript on the server and thereby changed the way to write (I/O) ‘fread’ forever. The popularity of Node.js comes due to its simple non-blocking programming which can be achieved in different ways. Also, it allows easy usage of callbacks and event loop, not easily possible with other languages e.g. Python with Tornado. In JavaScript, every callback and event loop are built in to the language and mostly programmers are well familiar or used with them. Thankfully, JavaScript provides us with an incredibly fast and convenient platform with a non-blocking programming language. Surely, JavaScript will be successful to make its importance in coming future with its some of unique features like-:

Functional Programming.

Dynamic Objects and Prototypal inheritance.

Designed for the Internet.

Every day the lots of alternatives and millions of languages are originating that might be useful only for initial development stages but in the long all will fail to replace JavaScript. JavaScript is a high-level programming language and not an assembly language, with a source code you can well understand. The major advantage to incorporate Node in your stack is because of using JavaScript across the stack unifies the language and data format (JSON) that allows to reuse developer resources optimally. In recent years, Powerful JavaScript and Associated JavaScript Libraries have arisen to make web developer’s life much easier. In this article we are going to focus on following fairly recent technologies and libraries that are starting to gain traction:

Node.js

It is simply a server side JavaScript and uses an event-based server execution procedure.

It is created on Google Chrome’s JavaScript Engine (V8 Engine).

This platform is built on Chrome’s JavaScript runtime for fast easily building and scalable network applications.

It is a lightweight and efficient event-driven and non-blocking I/O model, perfect for real-time data-intensive applications running across distributed devices.

A rich library of various JavaScript modules contained in Node.js, simplifies the web applications development to a great extent.

Features Node.js

Here are the important features that make Node.js the first choice of software architects:

All Node.js library APIs are non-blocking and asynchronous and its server never waits for an API to return data. After calling, the server moves to the next API and also a notification of events of Node.js mechanism helps the server to gain a response from the last API call.

As it is created on Google Chrome’s V8 JavaScript Engine, the library of Node.js is very fast in code execution.

It uses a single threaded model along with an event looping and helps the server to respond in a non-blocking way and also makes the server highly scalable in contrast to traditional servers. It uses a single threaded program, which can provide service to a larger number of requests than traditional servers such as Apache HTTP Server.

Applications of Node.js never buffer any data and it simply output the data in lumps.

Released under the MIT license.

Advantages of Node.js:

It is a platform usually built on Chrome’s JavaScript runtime for a fast and easy building, scalable network application.

For any JavaScript application with I/O access, it is a Preferred run-time environment.

It offers two-way connections to allow both server and the client can start their communication and to exchange data freely, in contrast to the typical web response paradigm. This is in stark contrast to the typical web response paradigm, where the client always initiates communication.

Node.js runs over the standard port 80 and based on the open web stack (HTML, CSS and JS).

Helps to improve development process using tools built on top of Node.js; i.e. Grunt.js for automated build tasks, Mocha.js for the testing unit, and even Brackets for editing full-text code.

Using the npm tool, it helps to manage JavaScript packages (node package manager).

You should consider Node.js variables if writing JavaScript applications for the client or server, as you can use and need it on a daily basis.

Angular JavaScript

Initially Angular JS was developed by Misko Hevery and Adam Abrons in 2009 and now it is maintained by Google.

Angular JS known as a structural framework for building dynamic web apps.

Angular JavaScript is an open source JavaScript to build powerful single page applications by supercharging HTML with added tags.

It allows to use HTML as a template language. To describe your application’s tools clearly and succinctly, it also allows you to extend HTML’s syntax.

Although both Angular and node are different tools, still they can be united to build applications known as isomorphic applications, using the same language on the front and back ends.

It is used for designing front-end web applications and in conjunction with the ionic framework it can even use for designing hybrid mobile applications.

Angular’s dependency injection and data binding remove much of the need to write code. It is an ideal partner with any server technology.

It is more beneficial for a developer since they can focus on learning only one language.

AngularJS Features

AngularJS is a powerful framework based on JavaScript development and helps to create RICH Internet Application (RIA).

AngularJS on using JavaScript allows developers to write a client-side application in a clean Model View Controller way.

AngularJS written application is cross-browser compliant and handles JavaScript code suited for each browser.

AngularJS is under the Apache License version 2.0. and a completely free, open source and used by a huge number of developers around the globe.

Overall, AngularJS framework is used to build high performance, easy-to-maintain and large scale web application.

AngularJS Advantages

Helps to create Single Page Application in a maintainable and clean way.

Provides users a responsive and rich experience with its data binding capability to HTML.

It is a unit testable code.

Make use of detachment of concerns using dependency injection.

Helps to offer reusable components.

Gives ease to get more functionality on writing less code for a developer.

It provides pure HTML pages views and the business processing is done with controllers written in JavaScript.

Moreover, AngularJS applications can be run on all smartphones and major browsers including Android and iOS-based tablets and phones.

jQuery

In the year 2006 John Resig created jQuery with his nice motto i.e. ‘Write less and Do more’.

Basic Use

SystemJS trusts on Promise and URL being present in the environment. If these are not available, it will send a request out to the system-polyfills.js file situated in the dist folder that will polyfill window.Promise and window.URLPolyfill. Alternatively these polyfills can also be loaded with a script tag before SystemJS or via other polyfill implementations.

A flexible and succinct way to assign values from objects or arrays into variables.

Allows specialized functions using function and the yield keyword that create iterators.

Map dictionary type object used to store value/key pairs.

A modular way of loading and organizing code.

Promises are used with async operations.

Substitutes the need for using arguments to access functions arguments.

Allows to get an array representing ‘the rest of the parameters’.

A collection objects can be used to store a list of data values.

A clean way to build up string values.

Usability of ES6 depends upon a range of factors such as:

Where an application to be deployed i.e. server-side or client-side?

Browsers to be supported.

How does the developer environment look like?

Access for tools to use (e.g. in an enterprise environment).

Creating a new app or updating an existing one.

“Use the right tool for the right job” Now tools are available for you to use ES6 in a variety of situations. However, before deciding to start using ES6 later or now, you should need to factor in your application requirements and unique environment. Many of Powerful JavaScript and Associated JavaScript Libraries or technologies work well together like you can conveniently use Node.js, Angularjs, JQuery, SystemJS, ES6 etc. together on the same page, providing you a powerful set of libraries and technologies to build your web apps and websites. Moreover, you can also look at some other upcoming libraries and technologies that can make your JavaScript coding life easier. We hope this article will inspire you to go off and learn a few of these fantastic technologies. Thanks for reading! If you want to know any more information or have any query related to all above discussed JavaScript libraries and technologies, then please let us know on Reaching us directly. You can also mail your query at contact@brihaspatitech.com. At TBI our team of JavaScript experts would be happy to answer all your queries and doubts. May we know your favorite JavaScript library or technology, and why? Please let us know in the comments below: